Miles Of Memories

Daytona marks 50 years of triumph, tragedy

DAYTONA BEACH — Through 49 years, the Daytona 500 has left a favorite moment, a memory, a memento with everyone who has been here. It comes with the ticket to ride.

No one ever leaves untouched.

From the exhilaration of a victory to the agony of a death - and every feeling in between - the emotional pull has grown stronger each passing year, creating a crescendo effect that should peak Sunday for the historic 50th running.

The triumphs and the tragedies are sweeping.

"I don't know enough about history to know exactly how it became like this," said driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. "But it's the most special race you can ever run. There's just a feeling it gives you when you arrive. You can feel it. You know you're becoming a part of history."

What began at Daytona International Speedway from a modest start on a meager budget in 1959, with an estimated crowd of 40,000 and a total purse of just $67,760, has grown into the richest, most prestigious, most popular car race in America.

The purse this year will top $18 million. The crowd will exceed 200,000, along with a national television audience of millions more.

It has come a long way.

There is now name recognition that rivals the Masters and the Kentucky Derby. There is branding value - according to Forbes magazine - that trails only the Super Bowl, the World Cup and the summer Olympics. There is an attraction from the racing world that is second to none.

"I've won other big races, but by the next Sunday, you've practiced again, things have happened and you're back to zero for the following week," Earnhardt said. "The emotion and the high are gone. But when you've won the Daytona 500, it's different. You carry that feeling for months. You have it the rest of your life."

All 24 of the living former winners are expected to be at the race Sunday, all already enshrined at the Daytona 500 Champions' Hall of Fame, their handprint, right footprint and autograph immortalized in concrete.

"This is the race that our sport was founded on, built around. And it's the only race that carries a title if you win it," said 2006 champion Jimmie Johnson. "There is a reason it's special. It's our largest event, and it comes with such a great tradition."

Forty-nine years of the Daytona 500 have included some incredible upsets, some amazing finishes, heavenly highs and hellish lows, scenes that are indelibly etched into history and create an atmosphere of tremendous anticipation, allowing it to grow each year.

"There is just so much history of our sport here in this race," said driver Kyle Petty, the son of seven-time champion Richard Petty. "This is like our hallowed ground, our sacred race. Over the years, everything has been here."

From the first race in 1959, there has been drama and intrigue, a clear signal of what would follow. It took 61 hours after the first finish to declare Lee Petty the photo-finish winner over Johnny Beauchamp, who originally celebrated in Victory Lane. It was only after officials reviewed the still photos and newsreel footage that the change was made a few days later.

Richard Petty, Lee's son, was part of the most talked-about finish between two of the biggest rivals in NASCAR history. In 1976, Petty already had won the 500 five times, and his duels with David Pearson had been legendary. Petty had won most of them.

The two had charged through the final 100 miles together that year. When Pearson passed Petty on the final-lap superstretch, his lead didn't last very long. Petty charged back, ducked low and got back the lead exiting turn 4. Petty's car, though, drifted up into Pearson's, and they crashed, both spinning to a stop in the infield.

Petty's car would not restart, but Pearson's car never shut off, and he crawled back onto the track, limped across the finish line and recorded his first and only Daytona 500 victory.

No name has become as synonymous with the event as Petty. The family is one of three in which a popular son followed his father to Victory Lane. Kyle has never accomplished the feat, missing the chance to add a third-generation winner.

After the Pettys came the Allisons and Earnhardts. Bobby Allison won in 1978, 1982 and 1988, and he was followed by Davey Allison in 1992. After 20 years of trying, Dale Earnhardt Sr. won in 1998. Dale Jr. won in 2004.

Yet those same families so steeped in racing tradition have been torn by tragedy. Davey Allison died in a helicopter crash near the superspeedway in Talladega, Ala. Earnhardt Sr. died when he crashed on the last lap at the 2001 Daytona 500. Adam Petty, Kyle's son, also died in a racing accident in New Hampshire.

It was the Allison family which, almost by accident, contributed to a tremendous surge in interest in the race, and it was more about futility than victory. The 1979 Daytona 500 was the first race to be broadcast live in its entirety on national television, a golden opportunity for NASCAR.